Transitioning to the apartment lifestyle is no easy task. The repetitive eggs, cereal and pasta will have you missing the convenience of dining hall food. If you’re looking to vamp up your meals while keeping them healthy, easy and food-prep friendly, Spoon has just the gadgets for you.
1. Oster Blender
Photo by Sophie MacKenzie
A Vitamix blender is most likely out of college students’ budget, but Spoon has tested the waters to find the best and most affordable. Under $20, the Oster Blender outshines the $100 Nutribullet. This baby can crush ice and liquify your greens, yet is portable and small enough to stick into your dorm room! If you want to try any of the Insta-famous açai bowls, it definitely has enough power to blend through a frozen acai packet.
2. Frother
Photo by Gabby Phi
Most of us are caffeine fiends, but your love-hate relationship with on-campus Peet’s may finally be over. Instead of emptying your bank account on daily lattes, you can opt for a frother to make your dinner party, kick-back or study sesh treat a little more special and sophisticated.
Microwave about ⅔ cup milk for 45 seconds. Add 3 tablespoons of hot water in your favorite mug as well as a teaspoon of instant coffee and sugar. Stir with some angst (we know you have midterms). Stick your frother in heated milk, press the button and voila — dreamy, frothy milk should form. Slowly pour milk into the mug with espresso, scoop froth on top and enjoy!
3. Spiralizer
Photo by Mujahid Zaman
Ever heard of zucchini pasta, raw pad thai or spiralized cucumber-Asian salad? These dishes may sound a tad intimidating, but let us reassure how easy and fun these recipes are.
All you need is a spiralizer — a fun little appliance that creates perfectly curled pieces of spaghetti. Just stick your zucchinis in and twist. Having a vegetable replace your beloved carbs is a scary thought, but try it out. We promise you won’t even taste the zucchini; our entire team can vouch for this.
4. Garlic Mincer
Photo by Laura Davidson
After a long day of classes, the last thing you want to do is spend five minutes mincing cloves of smelly garlic. To make your life a little easier, invest in a garlic mincer. Now, there will be no excuse to skip the veggies because making a quick side of broccoli should truly take less than five minutes.
5. Apple Slicer
Photo by Kimberly Hasselbrink
It’s easy to feel peckish after back-to-back lectures. Do yourself a favor and make a quick apple snack in the morning. You could even get fancy with the dip by adding some dark chocolate chips to your favorite almond butter. Not only do you save time with your meal prep, but you will also have a filling and nutritious snack to satisfy that mid-afternoon low. Who knows, it could even replace coffee (Yes, Spoon just said that).
Now, all that’s left to do is to ditch your Cup Noodles, and start snapping your culinary creations.